


Worth It

by JoMouse



Series: Sterek Valentine Week 2019 [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Canon Compliant, Carnival, Don't copy to another site, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-09
Updated: 2019-02-09
Packaged: 2019-10-25 06:40:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17720060
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoMouse/pseuds/JoMouse
Summary: Stiles drags Derek to a carnival. Stiles keeps playing games and losing, so Derek steps in to help. Stiles is not happy.This was written forSterek Valentine Week 2019on tumblr.Day 2: Bear/Bare





	Worth It

**Author's Note:**

> I liked this idea when it popped into my head in the middle of the night. I hope I managed to write it well enough so that you like it as well. It is unbeta'd so all errors are mine.
> 
> xx-Joey
> 
> Don't know 'em. Don't own 'em. Don't show 'em.

Derek hated carnivals, but Stiles loved them, so he was spending his Saturday night trailing after his boyfriend as he ran from booth to booth eating everything he could get his hands on before riding on every ride until eventually the combination of activities caught up with him. Stepping off the Zipper, Stiles’ skin was waxy and his eyes dulled, the acrid smell of nausea wafted off him as Derek led him to a picnic table, forcing him to sit while he went to grab a bottle of water.

The line for water was longer than he’d planned and by the time he’d returned to the table, Stiles was gone. With a sigh, Derek followed his scent which was less toxic than it had been when he’d walked away. He finally found Stiles standing in front of one of those milk bottle games, bouncing a ball in his hands as he glared impressively at the stack of bottles behind the counter. He pulled back and tossed the ball, missing the stack completely and pouting when the guy running the game laughed at him.

“C’mon, give me another three,” Stiles said, handing over a five dollar bill which the guy took eagerly.

Derek watched as Stiles went through all three balls and pulled out another three balls before handing over another five dollars. When Stiles was down to one ball, Derek stepped up and took it from him and threw it without really looking, chuckling when the three bottles spilt off their table with a loud clatter. The guy behind him grabbed down one of the giant dinosaurs that were hanging above the tables.

Derek tried to hand the orange triceratops over to Stiles, but he had disappeared.  With a shrug, Derek tucked the giant toy under his arm and started walking. 

He found Stiles at a dart game booth, tossing darts and missing every balloon. One of the darts flew so far off target, it almost hit the girl working the booth. With a huff, Stiles handed over more money and took three more darts from her before she backed away and hid in the corner. Even going so far as to grab a giant red gorilla from above the dartboard and holding it in front of herself.

Just as Stiles held a dart up to shoot, Derek grabbed it out of his hand and tossed it at the board, popping a balloon. He smiled at Stiles who dropped the last two darts on the counter in front of him with a huff before turning and striding away, a peppery scent he’s always associated with Stiles’ irritation following behind him. Confused, Derek picked up the last two darts and threw them at the board listening to the quick ‘pop-pop’ of two more balloons bursting. He took the gorilla the girl shoved at him before taking off to tail Stiles through the crowd.

He found him standing in front of a basketball throw game, digging in his pockets and pulling out cash before handing it to the bored-looking teenager running the game. The guy quickly made the change in his apron before handing Stiles three basketballs. Derek watched in interest as Stiles came very close to making the first basket bouncing it off the backboard, but it managed to bounce off the rim and hit the ground. He didn’t have better luck with the next two balls, but he just reached into his pocket again to buy three more balls.

Before he could throw one, Derek stepped in and grabbed the ball out of his hand with a smile, setting the gorilla and dinosaur on the ground before turning. He looked at the basket and the ball in his hand, sizing it up and realizing that the rim of the basket was exactly the same size as the ball in his hands. Werewolf powers would do nothing to help him get the ball in the basket unless he did something about the size of the ball. Focusing, he let one claw pop out and scratch into the ball, feeling and hearing the slight release of air. Before the ball deflated too much, he threw it with accuracy learned from his years on the Beacon Hills High School basketball team and watched it go through the hoop. The teenager behind the counter’s jaw dropped as Derek repeated the move with the next three balls.

Taking the enormous yellow dolphin from the teenager, he turned to hand it to Stiles, surprised when the boy looked at him with wide, wet eyes and stormed away. Exchanging a glance with the guy behind the counter who shrugged and turned his attention to another person waiting to play the game, Derek picked up all of the stuffed animals, beginning to feel a bit bogged down with the toys. It was harder to move through the crowds with the animals in his arms, but he had won them for Stiles and didn’t want to get rid of them.

He decided to take the toys to the car before continuing to search for Stiles, eager to find him and figure out what had set him off. He was passing the kids rides when Stiles’ scent reached him, the negative smells tempered by the apple spice scent of his excitement. Looking around, he found Stiles kneeling next to a kiddie pool underneath a booth. He was waving his hand overtop it, wiggling his fingers in indecision. Just as Derek walked up, he plucked a plastic duck from the water within, splashing water as he lifted it into the air and flipped it over.

“Yes!” he shouted, jumping to his feet and doing a ridiculous dance making the girl working the booth laugh and give up a scent of interest at which Derek growled.

Stiles handed the duck over to the girl and took something in exchange. He turned to Derek, his eyes bright with happiness and a smile so large it looked like it hurt. Holding his hand out, fist closed over whatever he had been handed, he waved it at Derek. “I won you something!”

“You...you won  _ me _ something?” Derek asked, setting the toys down on the ground to take the item from Stiles.

“Well, I kept trying and you kept taking over and winning everything, but I wanted to win  _ you _ something because you came to the carnival with me even though you hate them.” He shrugged as Derek stared down at his hand. “And it took playing a game that everyone wins and it’s only the consolation prize, but I still won it!” His voice was losing confidence as Derek’s silence went on. “It’s stupid.”

Stiles only got a few steps away, shoulders slumped and feet shuffling before Derek grabbed him by the arm and whirled him around in his arms, kissing him before he could even make a noise of alarm. When the kiss broke, Derek held up the small white teddy bear key chain that Stiles had won so it was next to their heads. “I  _ love  _ it,” he told Stiles. 

“Yeah, right,” Stiles said, kissing him quickly on the lips before pulling away. “I’ll meet you at the car.”

Derek gathered up the toys and followed Stiles, wracking his mind for something to say to fix the situation. He kept the soft bear clutched in his hand, feeling the softness of the fur and the hard plastic of the keyring. He really did love it because it was a gift from Stiles and even more because he’d worked so hard to win something for him. His guilt over letting his instincts to provide take over was eating away at him as he arrived at the car, spotting Stiles leaning back against the passenger door, staring down at his phone, but Derek could tell he was just looking at a dark screen.

He glanced down at the prizes in his arm and then looked up as he saw a family passing by, a small boy crying between his parents. He was whimpering, but Derek could make out his words. He was disappointed he hadn't won the giant dinosaur at the ball toss. Smiling to himself, Derek approached the family, doing his best to look unassuming, but as the man moved to stand between him and his family, he knew he hadn’t completely succeeded. 

He held out the orange triceratops with a smile. “Would I be able to give this to the little boy? I won it, but I don’t have room for it in my car,” he whispered. He gestured with his head towards the Camaro. 

The man looked suspicious for a moment before nodding and moving so that Derek could squat down and smile at the little boy who was holding his mother’s hand and rubbing at his eyes, watching Derek suspiciously. “Hey, little man. My name’s Derek, do you think you could do me a huge favour?” After a glance up at his parents, the boy nodded. “Well, I have this dinosaur here who needs a good home. Do you think you could take care of him?”

“Yes’sir!” the boy shouted, holding out his arms and letting Derek place the toy inside them. He squeezed it tightly, burying his face in the frill around the neck. “Thanks, Derek!” The boy said, smiling at him, two front teeth missing. 

The parents thanked Derek as they followed their excited son away towards the car. Feeling warm, he turned to see Stiles watching him, a strange look on his face. He was about to approach when he heard a small voice commenting on the giant yellow dolphin. Looking around, Derek saw two little girls pointing and giggling as they pointed at Derek.

Approaching carefully, spotting an adult on their phone near the girls, he held out the stuffed dolphin to the girls. “Would you like this?” They both nodded and held their hands out and taking it from him before turning and running towards the adult. The smaller girl stopping and running back to hug Derek around the legs and muttering, “Thank you,” before returning to the others.

Smiling, Derek tucked the gorilla under his arm and made his way back towards Stiles when he overheard two teenage boys talking. “I really wanted to win something huge for her. Try to impress her, but I suck,” one of them said. “I knew it was a mistake asking her out; I can already tell she thinks I’m lame.” 

Smirking, Derek shouted out. “Heads up!” The two boys whirled around to face him just as he tossed the gorilla, laughing as they fumbled it before managing to catch it. “Good luck with the girl,” Derek told them before he shoved his hands in his pockets and returned to Stiles.

Stiles was still leaning against the car, but now he was watching Derek. “That was pretty cool, Sourwolf,” he said when Derek stopped right in front of him. “Gonna do something with the bear, too?” he asked, chewing into his lower lip.

“Yep,” Derek responded, moving around the car to the driver’s side and climbing in. He heard Stiles huff before getting into the car as well just in time to see Derek hanging the bear from the rearview mirror. He tapped it and watched it swing. “Perfect.”

“You know that’s illegal, right?” Stiles pointed out.

Derek shrugged. He knew it was, but he also knew that he wanted to see this small proof of Stiles’ love every time he got behind the wheel. “Worth it,” he said before leaning into the kiss Stiles gave him.

**Author's Note:**

> Feel free to come say hi to me on tumblr! I'm [josjournal](http://josjournal.tumblr.com).


End file.
